


Dare to be Bold

by Alliswell



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Angst, Consensual Underage Sex, F/M, Jealousy, One Shot, Smut, Some dirty talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-05-16 06:17:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5817322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alliswell/pseuds/Alliswell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young baker, stubbornly tries his hardest to stay away from his teenaged next door neighbor, could he be bold enough to get his happy ending? </p><p>One Shot.</p><p>Happy Everlarking!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dare to be Bold

**Author's Note:**

> At the beginning of the year, I was dealing with a severe case of Writers Block, so I did what I usually do: tried reading other people's stories, and started on some writing exercises... One of them, was to just write, whatever came to mind... The result was: shameless, inappropriate Everlark smut, which I'm average at, if I'm honest with myself. Then, I wrote a story around it, to give it some context, and as usual ended up being an angstsy mess, so I had go back to the already written smut, for some adjustments... Anywho, long story short, I've invested way too much time in this little "writing exercise", to not put it out there... I hope it's alright. I hope you like it. 
> 
> One Shot!
> 
> Although I've said this a million times before, 'age gap!Everlark is my kink, that said, **I must disclosed** : I have, absolutely ZERO first hand experience in the age gap subject, and I truly don't condone overly older man engaging in sexual behavior with too-young-a-girls, but if you're familiar with my stories, you probably know by now, that that's my trope... I would understand if the trope isn't your thing, and you rather not read on it, so, if this isn't your cup of tea, then please, I respectfully suggest, you click away from this fic. 
> 
> I do not own the characters of THG. This is a work of fiction, that probably doesn't represent the characters from their canon counterparts, but, then again... That's why is Fanfiction. 
> 
> All mistakes are mine.

The bell above the bakery's main door rang for the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes; a chorus of "Welcome to Mellark's" greeted the newcomer braving the 'after-school' rush.

Everyone in the packed bakery front, was busting their asses off, leaping and tip-toeing around each other, to serve patrons as fast, amicable, and serviceable as they could. Almost no one, noticed the petit brunette, standing unsurely at the back of the queue... no one, except for the baker himself.  

He felt her presence like the pull of a magnet on metal, immediately followed by the sensation of being punched in the gut, when his nose caught whiff of the distinct scent that made him sigh in contentment: cocoa butter lotion, fresh pine trees, and a hint of citrusy shampoo. 

He shut his eyes tightly and bowed his head, in an attempt to reel in his own impulses, that suddenly ran wild. His body, seemed to be conditioned to homed in on her presence, no matter where they were. He didn't have to physically lay eyes on her, to know where _exactly_ , she stood in a room full of people.

' _God... Please. Help me!_ ' He pleaded in his head, breathing harshly with the frantic drumming of his heart.

"Hey, Mr. Mellark!" called the brunette's raspy, young voice, above the din of the busy bakery.

The cheery greeting made the young baker freeze in place. He didn't dare look at her for fear his eyes would scream what his mouth kept wrestling back: he missed her, like the dandelion misses the sun.

Wipping his hands on his brown and cream stripped apron, he finally turned towards the voice he recognized as his next door neighbor's eldest daughter. He wasn't prepared, for the sight that met him.

Almost dropping the tray of freshly baked apple and goat cheese tarts he was carrying to the display case, he made a double take of the girl with the raven haired braid. 

"Um-h-hi, Katniss," The man, usually known for his silver tongue, stuttered out a greeting in return. "Wh-uh... canIdoyou?... I mean, WHAT, can  I  do,  for  you?" He cringed, enunciating his words one at a time, with great precision.

' _What the hell was wrong with him?... Oh... Right. She's standing right there. Duh! Of course he's gonna make an ass of himself.'_

But tripping over his own words, was hardly his fault. Judging by her outfit, the girl must've come straight there, from her private school at the other end of town.

She was wearing the shortest, plaid uniform skirt he had ever seen her in... well over five inches above her knees. The rest of the ensemble didn't help his cause much either; when he ventured a quick glance at the rest of her: navy blue pullover vest atop a white button-up shirt, with short balloon sleeves and a rounded collar, medium hight white socks, and black Mary-Jane, two inch wedges for shoes. Every man's 'fantasy'.

She looked sweet, innocent and oh, so sexy, in her school clothes, but the way the strap of fabric she was currently using for a skirt, had him panting like thirsty dog, and quaking in place, where he stood.

He had always enjoyed ogling her in her uniform; there was this... 'devilish gleam' in her pewter-grey eyes, when she knew, he was contemplating the many ways in which to get her out of her outfit.

Today though, was different. When he finally forced his eyes to meet hers, he realized the spark, the _devilish gleam_ , the flirty twinkle, was gone. The friendly smile in her full, pink lips, didn't reach her dimmed eyes, which made a pang of sadness hit him heard in the chest for her sake.

He was, one hundred percent sure, he, and most likely her little sister Primrose, would be the only people to even noticed, Katniss' crestafallen mood, behind the sweet, contented veneer she portrayed. The girl was a professional at disguising her true feelings and emotions, he hated that this time it was his doing that made her hide feelings of sadness.

His heart stuttered painfully, betraying his resolve, but he was stubborn, he would give in just like that. 

She watched him carefully for a full second, before her smile turned sweet the increasingly anxious state the baker was in. She knew him well, she knew he was struggling for words, so she responded politely,

"So, I was hoping to speak to you in private, mister Mellark... there's this  _project_ I have in mind, and I was looking to ask your opinion about it," Katniss lifted the deep green messenger bag she usually carried everywhere, draping it over her  shoulder more securely.

The keys to her beat up Jetta jingled cheerfully, when she tossed them inside her bag, his eyes followed the keys... namely, he followed the keychains on the keys, he always teased her about the exaggerated amount of keychains she had for three measly keys, but she always shrugged, saying she had gotten most of them for her sister a little tokens of love, and it was true, any time some of significance happened for the girls, the younger one would present her sister with a funny or silly keychain. Although, the newest one in the collection, she got from him and not her sister. 

He had seen her fiddled nervously  with the golden keychain. A small circle, holding a crested bird in flight by the tip of its wings. Mockingjay, she had called it, even though he argued it was probably a sparrow, plus Mockingjays didn't exist. "This one does!" She had said dangling the metal trinket from her index finger. 

The baker shook the memory of his brain, and focused back on the girl. She stood right in front of him, hands clasped together in front of herself, waiting for him still. 

To his charging, his wandering, treacherous, blue eyes kept descending down her long, perfectly defined, tanned legs. He finally jerked his eyes away from the girl's thighs and knees, and grunted to himself, in almost inaudibly chastisement. 

He returned his gaze to her eyes wearily; one of his hands went to scratch the back of his neck nervously, as his other one gripped the counter to ground himself to the present, his palm sweating and twitching uncomfortably on the supple wooded surface.

He made a face, about to tell her some bullshit excuse, as to why it wasn't a good time to talk; it really didn't have to be a lie, his staff were up to their eyeballs serving costumers, or back in the kitchen tending the ovens. He couldn't just drop everything in the middle of such a busy shift and disappear with her, to do God-knows-what alone.

Sensing his reluctance, the girl chimed in, in a uncharacteristically bubbly voice, before he could send her away.

"It'll only take a minute, I promise I will finish very quickly, and you can, _happily_ , go back to your affairs!" Her delicate lips twisted in a half smile, that didn't look very genuine. She looked at him expectantly.

He had to take a deep, stabilizing breath. In his mind, all he heard were naughty innuendos, peppering her short outburst. Whether intentional or not, he wasn't sure... He was _never_ sure with her when it came to that sort of things. Katniss  could be so naïve at times, while others, she could say the _most_ inflaming shit... she had the uncanny ability to leave him dazed and rock hard in seconds with just one wink, it was ridiculous!

"Uh... Well, the thing is... after-school rush, is very busy for us. As you can see, there's a lot of stuff going on right now, and I thinking I should better help..." 

"Nonsense!" Intervene Effie Trinket, from behind her register at the end of the counter.

Effie was the baker's clueless second cousin and business partner. She was an extravagant thing to look at, with very colorful wigs and matching outfits, that most teenagers couldn't pull of even in cosplay. The young baker had reluctantly accepted her financial help to keep the business afloat, during the recent recession, otherwise, he would've been forced to close down a business that had been in his family for five generations.

The bakery itself was a newer building. His grandfather bought the land and built it himself, when the business was passed down to him from his father. The building had been remodeled and kept on par with modern amenities. It would've been a shame to lose a part of his family patrimony and history.   

Effie usually came in to open the bakery, she was manning the register for the day, and had watched the short exchange between her cousin and that sweet neighbor of his. Effie loved her cousin, and viewed him as the son she never had, reason why, she interjected in the conversation.

For the last few weeks, she had grown worried about her cousin's exponentially somber, almost mournful mood. She truly thought, she was helping him by saying her next words.

"The staff can manage without you for a while, you know. We know how to run the bakery, Peeta dear, even if you don't believe it." She said with a wide smile, flicking her wrist to shoo him off.  

"Go on dear, take care of the girl's needs. God knows you need the distraction someone young and lively, like her, can bring!" Effie said brightly, smiling pleasantly at Katniss, who returned the smile sweetly. "Why she's a doll! I'm sure, she wouldn't had bother you, if she had anyone else to go to for help with her school work, don't be poor sport, one has to reward sweet, lovely girls with nice manners. Now go on!"

The comment wasn't completely clueless, everyone in town knew the tragic story of the Everdeen family, so Effie truly, really, thought she was doing a good thing, by pushing Peeta to help Katniss.

' _Fuck!'_ Peeta cursed inwardly, brushing back his hair, with rough his fingers.

Effie had no idea how loaded, dangerous, and scary her words rang in Peeta's ears. So damaging... How earger was he, to do just that: _Take care of the girl's needs._ The sad thing, was that he  _really_ needed a distraction, not from work or his life, but from thoughts of the girl in front of him.

She consumed his entire being, and left him riddled with guilt, shame, and so much longing, it ate at him. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't concentrate, he couldn't think straight when she was around. It scared him to his core, and he hated the feeling of helplessness and insatiable lusting after her, more than anything in the world.

'Fuck' was right. He was completely and utterly fucked... although he wished to be on the literal sense of the word, he would be metaphorically fucked, if he didn't manage to grow a conscience, and make his dick take back seat for once.

But his treasonous mind had already flashed through a plethora of dirty fantasies, in the span of their short conversation; the most prominent of all, entailed, him pinning her down to some counter, _any_ counter, and fucking her fast and hard until she screamed his name in sweet agony. 

He was a dirty bastard, who was gonna burn in hell.

"Fine..." He gritted between clenched teeth, eying the temptation-made-flesh before him, through narrowed, reproachful eyes. "Follow me, please." He mumbled, stepping aside to allow her to squirreled around the counter.

He didn't miss they way every boy, guy and old men in the bakery, stared appreciatively at the long legged beauty, as she gracefully glided by and around the corner.

Instinctively, he pressed a possessive hand to her lower back, and sent a cutting glare out at his male customers, everyone turned their faces away immediately.

It was immature of him. It was at the very least, ill advised to act that way, but he couldn't help the bout of jealousy that burned his insides. It was quite common by now, the desire to rip any man's head off, when he caught them paying too much attention to his... _Neighbor_.

He knew the sentiment was irrational; it wasn't like she'd ever noticed her many admirers, anyway. She was usually oblivious to such overtures.

It was her purity of heart, her aloofness, and innocence, that endeared her to him in the first place, along with her selflessness, boldness, and sense of responsibility. But those were just some of the many attributes that attracted him to her.

He found her bordering naivety, both endearing and arousing; she would never guess, how many heads she made turn when she walked by, nor would she ever encourage the situation further... She just wasn't _that_ kind of girl.

She never saw herself as the stunning beauty she was, no matter how many times he'd tell her.

The girl flashed Effie a grateful smiled as soon as she was on the other side of the counter.

Long, tanned legs, dripping of sex appeal aside, Katniss Everdeen was the perfect picture of propriety, which accounted for Effie's fondness.

Katniss had not a misplaced lock of hair out of her neat, tightly woven braid, that snaked down her back ending just above her tiny waist. Her pristine school uniform, without a wrinkle in sight, completed the image of good girl, Katniss was known for. Effie ate up good manners, and Katniss was chock-full of them.

Effie beamed exuberantly, "Have fun, you two!" She sing-sang with a wave.

"Thank you Ms. Trinket. I'm sure we will try to." the girl's quietly voice responded with a nod.

Peeta glared at her from his spot just a step behind her, causing the girl's smile to falter. She seemed concerned about his discomfort, more so than the way he was acting, seemingly rude, towards her. 

Objectively speaking, Katniss Everdeen was the poster child for exemplary children. 

An A+ student, well mannered, quiet and responsible. She was also a very hard worker, and frugal with her earnings from her various odd jobs around town.

No one in their right mind, would ever suspect her for the wild kind that dabbled in hot sexual escapades, with her next door neighbor, the bakery owner divorcee, nine years her senior. But then again, no one, except for Peeta Mellark, knew the real Katniss Everdeen, and her struggles. Nobody knew how having to care for an emotionally stunted and absent mother, while practically raising herself and her younger sister, affected the young lady, to the point of mistrust of everything and everyone.

Katniss was indeed a good girl, but she was starved for affection. Peeta always feared that was the reason she latched to him like a vine, when he finally returned her flirtatious attention. Peeta had his own insecurities to deal with, but the thought that she could fall in love with him because it was the easy thing, or out of a misguided sense of loyalty, was a big factor why he wanted to keep away from her. 

Katniss' father had passed away in an accident, many, many years prior. The girl took the mantel of head of the family, at the tender age of eleven, when her mother fell into a debilitating depression, leaving her daughters to fend for themselves while all thre of them wasted away. Katniss found ways to care and provide for her family, causing her to grow up with a warped sense of self, and a lot of trust issues.

Katniss was an exotic beauty, shapely, with olive color smooth and unblemished skin, almond shaped gray eyes, and hair as dark as night, always knitted in a rope-like braid; smart as whip, with a mind for organization and an aptitude to run a household smoothly on a tight budget. She also had a witty sense of humor, but most people thought her dry and uptight, since she wasn't very talkative.

Many grown ups had sadly agreed over the years, that even as early as thirteen years old, Katniss could've easily won any beauty pageant she entered, except, she was never interested in the glamorous hobby, like half the girls her age in their small town of Panem, were. Panem was very big about pageants, and most girls were involve with them in some way or another. Not Katniss! For that, people thought it a big waste, that she was never encouraged to exploit her natural beauty.

For Peeta, she was perfect the way she was! Not that he had ever admit it to her face. He just wasn't brave enough to talk to her about the things he admired in her, which was a very stupid handicap in their relationship, considering he had whispered scandalous things into her ears in the middle of the night, while she thrashed and moaned loudly between his sheets.

He was grown man, and she a High School Senior, he never understood how he could feel intimidated by her, but he was. 

Katniss was practical, choosing to engage the athletic, outdoorsy type of activities. She had never been afraid of nature, and she rather go bow hunting in the woods, than wearing makeup and glittery dresses, in fact, she never had the money or time to contemplate pagents, which she ultimately persived as frivolous.

As a kid, she had never been shy, but after having to grow up faster than her peers and taking on responsibilities most children never faced, she had become a little socially awkward. She was reserved and even skittish at times, only speaking to a handful of people at school, so it wasn't too much of a surprised that she remained oblivious to every male she encountered ogling at her.

At least, most kids were as intimidated by Katniss as Peeta was at times; no one dared bully her for being a loner, or for never heeding kids advances. 

Only recently, had she started to realize the effect she had on people, which made her uncomfortable and awkward. 

Katniss Everdeen had only ever had eyes for one man, and one man only. 

She had harbored a crush on Peeta Mellark, since he became her next door neighbor, almost five years earlier. She had kept her feelings secret until his divorce, and even then, she had to be persuaded to talk to the man by her friends, Johanna and Madge, who provided her with a healthy serving of liquid courage to boot. She would've never talked to the hot baker, about her feelings, without the other two girls' intervention.

To his own surprise, it didn't take long for Peeta to see the ' _girl_ ' next door, as more than a cute, sweet teenager. Initially, he had been flattered, he reluctantly started to allow her to sit in his porch on his off days, their conversations were always safe topics, and he discovered she was a Cubs fan, liked classic rock music, her favorite pastry were his cheese buns, she had watched ever Tarantino movie there was, and could belch and eat like a man and didn't feel embarrassed by it.

With time, they slowly migrated into his living room; he told himself it was because the weather was getting cooler, but deep down he knew he was just getting comfortable with her visits. Without realizing it, he started stoking his pantry with her favorite foods, he rented red boxes that she would enjoy, they say closer and closer in his couch, soon they started allowing light, chaste touches, then his movie choices got a rating upgrade... The first time they watch a movie with nudity in it, he convinced himself it was alright, she was nearly an adult, and she had offhandedly confessed she had watched soft porn. 

Then one day, he realized they were holding hands, and their thumbs were caressing each other's skins. He made the fatal mistake to look up at her, and found her bright gray eyes, a soft smile curled her lips sweetly, and he didn't know who leaned in first, but they didn't stop kissing until she moaned his name from under him, the first time he ground his erection against her blue jean covered center. 

He was scared shitless at how fast things escalated with her. He asked her to leave, and didn't speak to her in weeks, until the day she came home with her arm in a sling. He worriedly came to visit her, and petulantly she slammed the door in his face. The next day, she rushed to his house in a fury, demanding he took back the bag of bread and pastries he left for her family, while she was at school. He laughed at her for the first time, telling her that she couldn't return his gift, since it was for Prim. She raged at him, they ended up making out against the inside of his front door. 

He didn't push her away after that, regardless of his anxiousness over the glaring age difference issue, never being too far from his mind; she'd often affirm, she didn't care there was an age gap. The problem was, the _he_ cared... a great deal.

For the duration of their affair, Peeta often felt like a perverted creep, scared to death of all the potential consequences, that being romantically involved with such a young girl, could befall him if the relationship was ever discovered.

He felt a mild consolation, knowing that his marriage died on its own weight long before Katniss came into the picture. It made him mildly happy to know, she could never be blamed for his divorce, or marital problems. His marriage had never been a happy one, doomed to fail since the beginning, because he and his former wife, trudged along with it out of a sense of duty to their respective families. 

Peeta finally reached rock bottom with his overwhelming guilt, over his relationship with Katniss, almost ten months after their initial contact. He listened to his nagging reason, and ended things with her because it was the right thing to do for himself and for her. _But, dear Lord in Heaven, did he miss her!_

Peeta lead Katniss across his bakery's kitchen, bustling with activity, past employees that craned their necks to give the newcomer a once over as she walked by. Peeta suppressed the impulse to bare his teeth and slap his fists against his puffed out chest, warning them all to back off, like a gorilla in heat; instead, he brought his hand up, to press between her shoulder blades, gently steering her forward, until they came to face a door at the far end of the room. 

Peeta pushed the door open, and motioned for her to walk in. The act of gallantry, resulted being a bad idea. The door hid a staircase, and once she started climbing it, her skimpy, too-short uniform skirt, fanned out back and forth, with every step she took, allowing him an unobstructed view of her tiny, barely there, bikini-cut underwear, that did almost nothing to conceal her firm, round ass. 

He swallowed, thick and painfully. Then rubbed his eyes harshly with both his hands. _That girl was gonna be his death!_

At the top of the stairs, Katniss turned around, her pewter-gray eyes silently asking him, 'where to, now?' 

"Just... up ahead," He gestured a wave of his hand forward, sighing heavily in resignation. It had taken all of five minutes to get up there, and his knees already felt weakened and his hands itched for her skin. 

She stepped forward, coming into an open floor room. A flat screen TV hanged from the wall above a brick fireplace, a raggedy suede  couch sat in front of the tv and hearth. On the other side, a half wall, served as a small bar, housing a kitchenette, with a small fridge and matching microwave. A round table with four chairs on the other side of the kitchenette's bar, completed the room Katniss surmised was a sort of break-room, for the bakery employees. The place was painted in deep terracota colors, and adorned with a few of Peeta's own paintings, making the place warm and cozy.

It reminded her of Peeta's house, next to her family home. It reminded her of all she didn't have, and she had force herself to think of something else, before she did something stupid, like cry. 

One glance showed her, two doors to the left, one labeled 'Restroom', the other, 'Effie Trinket, Administrator', and directly across the room, to the right, one single door, with a vintage copper nameplate bearing the words 'P. Mellark, Baker'. The plate was faded and weathered, she absently wondered if it had belong to Peeta's grandpa and name sake. He had told her, the bakery had been passed down from father to son for a few generations. That he took over it, when his two older brothers decided to find careers elsewhere.

His father had suffered a stroke when Peeta was in college, prompting him to rush back home to tend to the business until something else could be arranged. His mother decided she wanted to sell the bakery, and Peeta opposed. His father couldn't work full time anymore, but Peeta could, and he could finish up college later. He never got his degree on modern art, as he hoped to, instead he changed majors and graduated top of his class with a business degree from a local school that offer night courses. 

In the years it took Peeta to take sole control of the bakery, his dad had to take a business partner, and old family friend with more money to spare and managerial experience, they sorely needed. Said business partner had a daughter, Peeta had intermittently dated through the years. In order to keep business in the family, and work out a way to repay the investment Peeta married his on again of again girlfriend, to discover very soon, they weren't happy at all. 

The marriage collapse two years later. 

The divorce was mutual and amicable, the initial investment had been paid in full during their first year of marriage, so he didn't feel guilty to displace the partnership, and taking Effie on as new investor. It was better that way. 

"Wow. This is cozy," Katniss offered quietly, looking around the place with interest. "I never knew this was up here," 

"Yeah, my dad grew up here. Him and his folks lived in the apartment until grandpa bought their house. Then it became storage, until dad married mom, and needed a place to live. This was their home up until my brother's arrival. They bought a house as well, and moved out.

"The apartment sat empty for a while, but my brothers used it as a bachelor pad at different times, then when I took over the bakery, I decided to turn it into an employee lounge... Since I had already bought a house and all, it just made sense," Peeta's voice was dry and curt. He figured the less friendly he was, the better chance his brain would keep his ardent desire for the woman, at bay.  

"Now, what are you doing here, Katniss?" He asked rather harshly. "What do you want?" 

She merely looked at him, her eyes unreadable. Pursing her lips for a moment, in mild amusement, she turned away from him. It drove him crazy, how she could wrap him around her little finger in mere seconds. She took deliberate, sure steps, deeper into the room, until she was in front of a double paneled window, looking out to the street bellow where the bakery stood.

She touched her fingertips to the window glass, sliding her digits down until they met the solid wood of the sill. She said absently, her eyes lost in the horizon, thoughtfully, "Right here would've been nice..." She whispered to herself, he barely caught her words. 

"What?" He asked, crossing his arms over his solid chest. "What was that?" 

Turning to face him, she smiled wanly, as if she just remembered he was there. "Nothing... just daydreaming,"

"About what, exactly?"

She scowled for a moment, debating internally with the answer, "Of you. If you really wanna know," she turned back to stare out the window, resuming her caress of the glass, she confided, quietly "You'd be taking me from behind, and my chest and hands would press against the crystal. It would be thrilling to look down at the world outside, while you push in and out of me," Her eyelashes fluttered shot, and her cheeks turned rosy,  her face fell downwards.

He huffed a breath irritably. 

"Jesus, Katniss! You can't say shit like that!"

"Oh I know. I know you don't want me anymore. I know I'm not supposed to want you anymore either. But you know me, I'm a rebel who doesn't follow rules very well... that's all." She said with finality. Finally turning back to him, her face clean of emotion. 

"Damn it, Katniss." He rushed to her, grabbing her bicep roughly, "This is my place of work! This is my livelihood. I can't have you say stuff like so offhandedly, as if it's the most natural thing in the world!" Now he was truly angry, his nostrils flaring with every intake of air he took. "What if someone  hears you?" 

She slowly wiggled her arm from his grasp, and calmly stepped away from the window. 

"I'm turning eighteen the first week of May, Peeta. I'm not a kid! Plus, there's nothing between us anymore, remember? You were very clear..."

"And yet, you're standing here. In the middle of my bakery's private floor!" He chuckled mirthlessly, shaking his head and averting his eyes. 

She stood right in front of him, defiance written on her eyes. "I needed to see you. I wasn't lying when I said I was gonna be brief. I figured you rather hear it from me, so I came,"

She leveled him with one of her, too old-for-her-age stares, before saying in a even tone, "I'm leaving Panem, right after graduation," her voice cracked at the tail end of the last word, she had tried to sound unaffected, but she could only do so much while talking about something so emotionally draining for her. "I decided, that now that mother finally, has her shit together, and Prim's big enough to watch herself, is best if I just took off."  

Peeta's brow creased, his arms fell to his side, his lips parted and rapidly closed. Then he spoke, "Well... That-that's good, Katniss. You can go to college, or travel, like you and Madge have always talked about... you could do whatever. It'll be good for you," He said trying to sound encouraging, while forcing down the bile that suddenly knotted his throat. 

She nodded slowly. Her eyes found the floor. She adjusted her messanger bag on her shoulder, making her skirt ride up an inch, "Yeah. You're right, as always. Getting away from here would be good... I figured... I figured you'd like to know," her eyes met his briefly, "Well..." She made a small waving motion with the hand not clutching the strap of her bag for dear life. She couldn't look at him any longer, so she side stepped him, and started towards the stairs. 

He stood there, eyes trained on the spot she had just vacated. It took his body a minute to stir out of the frozen state her words had caused. Without thinking, he turned on his heel, short of breath and struggling to hide his mounting desperation.

"Wh-Where are you gonna go?" He asked hastily, "What would you be doing?" His voice sounded louder than he intended. It was useless to try and shove down his panic, it had already taken root in his chest, and was strangling his heart like a vicious vine.

She slowed down, then half turned her upper body to him, her eyes sad but determined, "What does it matter to you?" She asked in a deadened tone.

"I... Um. I'm still your friend, Katniss," he answered harshly, once he regained his ability to speak. "I still care about you, and your wellbeing."

It was her turn to laugh derisively. The sound grating and wrong to his ears.

"Oh, Peeta please, cut the crap. You don't care about me," she said with a pained, slightly demented smile. "I could walk into a swarm of poisonous wasps, for all you care! It wouldn't even register to you, if I dropped dead" her lower lip quivered imperceptibly, and her eyes glazed over minutely.

She turned back to the stairs, leaving him confused, hurt, and speechless. He couldn't believe she just said that about him... after _everything_ that had happened between them, how could she believe he held her in so low regard? His body reacted before his brain could catch up.

He closed the distance between them in two strides, and forcefully, pulled her back to him by the shoulders. 

She stumbled backwards clumsily, disoriented. He turned her around to face him in a quick, rough motion. His heart pounded against his ribcage, he had never felt so intensely angry, hurt, or frightened, by any thing or any one in his entire life.

"You can't say shit like that, and walk away from me! It's not fair, Katniss!" He barked angrily at her. 

"Well,  _you_ , don't get to treat me like I'm your blasted property!" She hissed back, jerking her arms out of his clutches. "You can't discard me, have your insufferable ex wife spend the night at your place, and then demand consideration the next day, Peeta! I didn't walk away from you.  _You_ walked away from _me_!" Bitter tears fell unbidden from her eyes.

"I told you I loved you, I still do, I begged you to stay with me, I promised you I'd be more careful, yet, you decided I was too much trouble for you. So you don't get to demand I tell you shit about me. I came here as a courtesy, but that was a mistake!" 

Peeta's forehead creased at her words. His heart splitting in two, at the pain in her voice and the tears that marred her pretty face. It killed him, he was the cause for both.

But he had have good reason to break things up with her; he was sure of it. He kept trying to convince himself that he did right by her, letting her go; but maybe he was wrong, maybe he was making things worse for the both of them. She surely looked wrecked, and he felt as bad as she looked, but in all her rant, only two things stood out: she loved him... And he had been an idiot for not thinking, how it would've looked to her to see his ex-wife around his place.

"You saw her and thought...? No..." He mumbled incredulously, before pulling her into his arms and crushing his mouth against hers. "No... You can't believe that I don't care... You can't believe that I went back to her... You just can't," his voice sounded raw against her mouth, cheeks and neck.

She tried to resist his kisses, to push him away from her, but he was bigger, muscular, and stronger; she just couldn't fight him off, and at the end of all things, she didn't really _want_ to fight him off. 

"Let me go, Peeta..." She whimpered halfheartedly, feebly smacking her open hand against his solid chest. "You fucked her last night, didn't you?" Her voice broke helplessly with the accusation. "You fucked her, and then this morning, when she was leaving, she fucking waved at me! She waved and smiled. As if mocking me, as if she had known all along... You son of a bitch, I want to hate you, and I can't! I hate you for that!"

In other circumstances, he would've laughed at her angry outburst, not in mockery, but because she was just so cute and funny when she was pissed off, but her sobs and sniffles, and the way she tried to hit him with her closed fists like a powerless child, pierced his soul. He felt shame and disgust at his poor choices, but he hadn't slept with his ex-wife, and he need to tell Katniss she had guessed wrong, to try to erased the hurt in her eyes and voice.

He took her face in his hands, and pleaded with her, "Please, sweetheart, you have to know... you have to know..." He insisted, pressing hot kisses to her eyelids, cheeks, nose and chin. "It's only you, always you."

Suddenly, he slipped his big, warm, flour covered hands under her skirt, digging his thick fingertips into the supple flesh of her bottom; he lifted her feet from the ground, and she wrapped her legs around his waist readily.

He walked them both towards the door bearing his nameplate. He kicked the door closed behind them, and sat her on his desk, where he continued to kiss her face desperately. 

Ever since their first kiss, Katniss  had run the show between them; he had always allowed her to set the pace, being content to follow her lead despite him being the older, stronger and more experienced one in the relationship.

He had never forced her to do anything, but when she started hinting about her willingness to  engage in intimate physical relations, he had hit the breaks so hard, they both got whiplash from his actions. She wouldn't speak to him for days, and stubbornly he had not seek her out either.

He refused to _rob her of her innocence_ , arguing that she should experience those things for the first time, with a boy closer to her age. Out of spite, she dated her friend Gale, who had been asking her out for closed to a year.

On those days, Peeta would wait awake, sulking in his house, until he saw Gale's truck pull up next door to drop her off. It wasn't that he was stalking her, he wasn't the stalking type, it was just hard to not to noticed your neighbor, when she made such an elaborate production, out of going on a date, that the whole neighborhood was aware of her comings and goings; after all, Katniss Everdeen going out with a boy was gossip fodder, she wasn't known for socializing, and she was definitely not boy-crazed either, so everyone noticed, and to Peeta's chagrin, most everyone seemed to accept Gale as an obvious suitor.

Peeta never knew he could hate and so be jealous of a guy he'd never actually met. If Gale Hawthorne ever came into Mellark's Bakery, he was sure to be serve flat sodas and day old pastries. He also got the wrinkliest napkins in the whole store, for good measure!

It was petty, immature and unhealthy, but it was Peeta's only outlet for his maddening jealousy, until the day he saw Gale, pushing Katniss against the side of his truck, sticking his tongue down her throat, while she curled her dainty hands into tight fists and tried to push back without much success.

Peeta finally had open letter to react.

Pretending he had no idea, what the 'crazy kids next door' where doing in their driveway, Peeta made a production out of taking his trash out. He banged his trash cans loudly and repeatedly, forcing the teens to stop their activities. Peeta's eyes fell on the teenagers feigning surprise at seeing them embraced like that, but no sooner he spied Gale's hand freeze in its descent to Katniss' ass, his eyes narrowed and his faced turned something scary.

Peeta didn't even made an effort to hide the fact that he was staring at the offending hand, nor did he hide his accusing glare, once his blue eyes met Gale's gray ones. 

Katniss gracefully and speedily, stepped out of Gale's grabby arms, and pranced her way back inside her house, like a ballerina on tip-toe; she didn't even said goodnight to her embarrassed looking date. She never went out on a date with Gale after that night, but it still took Peeta a week to sit her down to talked about their relationship, and all his fears and her hopes. 

Peeta was a worrier, and as a worrier, he decided they needed strategies and plans of action for just about every eventuality. He thought, he had prepared for _everything_ concerning their relationship, until the day _everything_ collapsed around them. 

Almost every fear, Peeta had had, about being romantically involved with Katniss, materialized in the form of a faulty plastic stick.

The day Katniss arrived to his house, with a pharmacy bag bearing an unopened pregnancy test, was the beginning of the end for them.

She had been scared out of her mind, worried and uncertained, while all he did, was helplessly watched every single emotion play out on her pretty face, while waiting for the test results. Everything from fright, to apprehension, giving way to tamed excitement and cautious hope, then confusion when the stick was inconclusive... and then, the heavy disappointment and sadness filling her eyes with reluctant tears, when finally, a doctor announced a false scare a few days later.

It had been too much for Peeta to bear, but the worse thing was witnessing the thinly veiled, poorly concealed longing in the girls gaze every time she saw a family: mother, baby _and_ father, stroll around. 

She kept talking about being relieved there was no child growing inside of her, since she didn't want to ever have children, since she was afraid she wasn't warm enough to be a good mother, she was afraid she'd do to her children what her mother did to her and Prim, and she wouldn't ever subject a baby to that life. Still, every time she saw a mother pushing a stroller, or some heavily pregnant woman, her hand would absentmindedly caress her own, flat and empty tummy. 

In usual, Katniss fashion, her mouth was saying something completely opposite to what she really felt, and she did a damned good job at sounding firm in her convictions, it was good enough to convince herself, it was too bad Peeta had learned all her little tells, and couldn't be fooled by her words anymore.

Peeta was sure the gesture was an unconscious act, still, he felt uncomfortable with the direction things were taking. Whatever Katniss said, she'd want children at some point in their lives, Peeta on the other hand, was just too afraid that he had lived too long under his Mother's volatile personality to be able to provide a loving, happy childhood to any baby; Peeta's  own childhood had been plagued with bouts of abused, dealt by his mother's hand or harsh tongue.

He was afraid he wouldn't know how to be a good father, because unlike Katniss, he never had you get siblings to care for, and even if she believed herself cold, she would make the greatest mom on earth... It was him, who would fuck things up, which made him fearful and full of doubts. 

The fact, that Katniss was still, only seventeen years old and in high school, only filed his guilt and self loathing making his stomach churn uncomfortably. He spent many nights battling insomnia, going crazy with fears and worry, until he couldn't stand it anymore. 

He decided she was too young to be tied down to him. He was too old to give her a happy life, even if by some miracle her mother didn't call the police on him and the justice system threw the book at him, slapping him with a sexual predator label he wouldn't be able to shake the rest of his life... Everything would be ruined: her life, his life, the life of the hypothetical child she'd be carrying in her belly if he got her pregnant for real... He feared she would wake up one day resenting him, for stealing away her youth, her future, her freedom, and so would him to her.

He had to stop it, walk away. So he did.

In the weeks after their brake-up, Peeta had tried to forget about Katniss, by any means available. 

He dated other women, had tried to go out with friends, had tried to go on a far away vacation... Ultimately, he had just simply sat at home like a hermit, when he realized he hated going on dates, traveling alone and he couldn't relate to his friends single-life-escapades or their married-with-family ones.

But then, his ex-wife called not even a week earlier, to discuss something about closing down joint bank accounts and wether he should cut her alimony checks from his business account until he got his personal one in order. Peeta had hit a very low point in his self imposed exile from social life; talking to his ex-wife had been easy and fun before their marriage... he wasn't thinking straight when he asked her out for drinks, she accepted a bit surprised.

He thought, if there was a way to get Katniss out of his mind, his ex was it.

He was wrong.

Back in the present, with the epiphany, that seeing Katniss walking away from him for good brought to his stressed out psyche still fresh in his mind, Peeta grabbed Katniss' small hand, rubbing the callouses of her archer fingers.

He had missed the roughen skin of her hands, left behind from her bow's string and her arrows, he brought the tips of her fingers to his mouth to kiss, and then, in a bold move, he placed that same hand he had just kissed, flat, against the hardened bulge, covered by his apron and under his uniform slacks. 

"You feel that?" He asked breathily, sucking on the skin under her ear; she moaned feeling him stiff and twitching for her, "That didn't happened for my ex last night. In fact, it hasn't happen for _any_ one, since the last time I had you in my bed," 

She gasped, shutting her eyes tightly, when he licked the shell of her ear and trapped her lobe with his teeth and worried it lightly. Her legs cradled his thighs snugly, and his hands found purchase on her hips. 

"You broke me, Katniss. I can't fuck anybody else. I don't know how you did it, but I can't get it up for anybody else." He growled into her ear, and she arched her back, involuntarily bringing her chest to bump against his. 

"Is that why you're mad at me?" She half panted, and half sobbed. "Is that why you've been so angry, and mean to me? Is that why you don't want me anymore?" Her sorrowful eyes found his, and he saw his entire future, flash in those gray, watery orbs.

He stopped his greedy lips, separating from her to caressed her face lovingly for the first time in weeks... months even. 

"You... have no idea, the effect you have," He breathed out almost in awe. 

"What does that even mean?" She asked petulantly, scowling mightily. 

A nervous chuckle escaped his mouth, ' _There's my girl!_ ', the thought sprang to mind easily, giving him pause. It was true, no matter how much he tried to stave the claims, no matter how stubbornly he had refused to see her that way, she was _his_ girl, and he loved her; standoffish attitude, intimidating scowls, pig-headed-ness and all, he loved everything about her more than anything in the world.

After swallowing the lump that formed in his throat, he responded carefully, looking deep into her pretty, mercurial eyes, "It means, that I'm a fool, that my heart is yours, and that _you_ win... every time... always."

He kissed her scowl away sweetly, patiently, lovingly. "I knew this would've happened anyway," he drew her closer to him, to continue to kiss her lips tenderly, "I knew, I couldn't stay away from you, long," his fingers played with the hem of her sweater vest, finally tugging on it lightly.

As if on cue, Katniss angled her torso a few inches away from him, and rose her arms above her head, allowing him to lift the garment off of her. He sat the vest on the back of a desk chair, careful not to wrinkle it. But soon enough he was cupping her cheeks in his hands, thumbs caressing her cheekbones softly. He licked his lips before diving back to her's.

She sighed contentedly when his tongue swiped her lower lip tasting her cherry flavor Chapstick. He tugged on her lip with both of his own, and pulled it into his mouth, sucking on it languidly before plunging his tongue deep into her mouth. She gave as good as she took, suckling on him in return. 

His hand slid slowly, down her neck, descending along her chest, until his fingers fiddled with the tiny buttons of her white uniform shirt, he didn't take long to have it completely undone and parted down the middle, enough to sneak a warm hand in. 

He groaned, taking a peek at her chest. She was wearing a pair of white, balconette cut push-ups, that snapped closed on the front. He loved those things. He'd never known bras that opened on the front existed, until he started undressing Katniss on a regular basis. The girl was partial to the style herself, and she owned several pairs of the garment. 

"I love this thing," Peeta grunted lowly, sliding a finger across the cups of the bra and twisting it under the strap, he dragged it up and around her shoulder, until his finger could go no further.

She tried to hide a blush by smirking knowingly, but the pink of her cheeks made him swell in his boxers.

With another grunt, he whispered into her ear, "You're always so sexy and appetizing without even trying... You drive me insane, Katniss," his lips opened up to suckle on her collarbone, as her breaths became ragged. "I swear, when I see you like this, it feels like I'd do ANYTHING you ask me to, anything, Katniss."

He pulled on the clasp of the bra, and pushed the cups away from her breasts, exposing the small, perky  orbs to the cold air. Her nipples hardened and beaded even more when his fingers found them, and rolled them between his index and thumb. She moaned loudly, throwing her head backwards. She had missed that sensation, as much as he had missed watching her get lost in the ecstasy he provided. 

Slowly, his mouth closed around the puckered, dark pink mounds, surrounding it with warmth. He licked, bit, and sucked on her breasts with gusto. Her hips started to buck against his, but he kept hold of them with one hand. He didn't want to spoil the moment by finishing either, or even both of them with a dry hump... There was no way in hell he'll allow that. 

After a few blissful moments, Katniss spoke. 

"I'm yours, Peeta... but that doesn't mean you're mine. How can I have so much control over you, if you aren't mine completely?" 

"Uh-uh..." He denied with a sound at the back of his throat. Then he released her breast with a loud pop to free his mouth, and give her a proper response. 

"I'm yours," he corrected, "You're mine. Anything else is unthinkable, sweetheart. Please, believe that. I'm ready to let go of all my baggage, and love you like you deserve... without reservations,"

"Really? You mean it?" 

He nodded his response, looking at the hopeful expression on her face, "I give you my word. No more doubting, no more cowering away. I'm ready to surrender to you completely."

He saw Katniss smile at him for a whole two seconds, before his mouth crashed to her lips again, and from there, things escalated quite fast. 

He worked his hands up her thighs, under her skirt, hooking his fingers on the delicate elastic of her underwear, he pulled them off, down her legs, in a practiced motion.

She squealed in surprise, when he looped his elbows under her knees and pulled her to him, all the way to the edge of his office desk. She was barely sitting on it, fighting to keep herself upright, when he gave her a gentle nudge backwards. She was still trying to right herself on her precarious sitting position, when he pried her legs open and sank on his knees in between her thighs. Her breath hitched, when she noticed the wolffish smile on his face, and the hunger in his blue eyes as he admired her most intimate places. 

"Peeta?"

His eyes met her's briefly, before winking at her.

"This will be my apology, sweetheart,"

She felt all her nerve ends prick in alert, a gush of arousal coated her sex at the sight of his devious smirk. She had long since stopped feeling embarrassed at him actually watching her growing so wet for him, he knew, good and well the effect he had on her, still she felt heat take over her face, chest and lower belly... she couldn't help it, so she tried to squirm, but his big, strong hands, kept her wide open in place for his proding eyes.

Peeta caressed one of her smooth, lower lips with his thumb, smearing the slickness around her labia... his mouth watered. He had never seen a clean shaved vagina in real life in all his years of being sexually active, until _her_. Sure, he'd seen porn with woman as hairless as Barbie dolls, but he had never seen, let alone touched a woman like it before, and he couldn't get enough of it once he started giving her oral. He craved it, the feel of the smooth flesh, but it was also her taste, her smell, it was intoxicating and drove him mad with want.

Katniss told him once, she got the idea of getting the 'Brazilian wax' from her friend Johanna, who had jokingly mentioned how men loved soft, hairless pussies. Katniss got a waxing every week, in preparation for the moment Peeta finally succumb to temptation... needless to say, when Peeta found out Johanna's favorite cookies were his triple chocolate chip, he started giving them to her for free, even going out of his way to keep a fresh stash just for her hidden away. 

Peeta bit his lip, and leaned down into her center. His face came so close to her, it was a miracle his nose didn't bump her fleshy nub. She exhaled a big mouthful of air, she had been holding in anticipation. 

He took a deep, long breath, absorbing her scent deep into his lungs, "Shit... I've missed your smell," he groaned lowly, digging his finger tips into the skin of her thighs right before taking a long, hot lick, along her slit.

She almost fell forward, when the flat of his tongue made contact with her throbbing flesh. A moan got stuck in her throat, and all she could do was grab at the edge of the desk with both hands, to keep herself tethered to her perch. 

"I could eat you all day, and never tired." He mumbled against her crotch before diving into her heat to devour her whole.

After a few seconds of slurping sounds, choked up gasps and whimpering moans, Peeta slid his finger closer to his mouth, to rub her clit lightly, a moment later, he pushed one finger into her warmth, making her sigh in relief, another finger followed soon after, and yet another one only a moment more, until she was completely full and stretched out.

She wasn't demurely sighing and gasping anymore, she was full on crying out Peeta's name, keening and begging, loudly and desperate. Her hips kept gyrating harshly, making the small legs of the desk thump on the floor beneath. Peeta was growing aware that they were actually reaching the trim of the rug the desk was on, and soon enough they'll be scratching up the hardwood floor and causing a noise very hard to explain to the people downstairs. 

"Shhh..." He admonished with a frown, lifting his head from between her thighs, his face was mess of juices and spittle dripping down his stubble covered chin, he tried to sound stern as he warned her, "there's a bakery full of people below us. You don't want any nosy interruptions, do you?" In all honesty, he was torn at the thought that all those guys down below, would hear her cry out his name when she came, but at the same time, the thought of any other man ever hearing her noises in the throes of pleasure, made him insanely jealous. 

Katniss scowled at him, from her perch above, "Excuse me for enjoying your _ministrations_!" she snapped, "I haven't have a guy's tongue, or fingers inside of me in months! Sorry, if I'm out of practice swallowing my noises." 

She didn't look sorry at all, in fact, she looked pissed off.

It occurred to him, that she might've been almost to the brink of orgasm when he stopped to chastise her for being too loud. He chuckled quietly at her irritated response, which made her grunt in annoyance.

Looking more exasperated than ever, she reached an arm out from behind herself, grabbed a fistful of his soft golden curls, and shoved his face back between her legs, demanding, "Make me cum, Peeta. Stop teasing, its unbecoming."

She whined like a pampered brat, and for the first time in months, he felt like everything was right with the the world! He tried to stifle his laugh, before complying obediently with her command. 

It didn't take long for her to convulse and spams with her release. She did her best to keep quiet, but still a couple of pleased moans escaped her mouth.

His greedy eyes took a full minute to drink her in: her eyes were close tightly, her skirt was bunched up around her waist, where he'd left it before kneeling in front of her, her chest heaving up and down with the effort it was taking to calm her harsh breaths, her shirt and bra were hanging limply from her arms, while her breasts stood proudly on display, tantalizingly. Her nipples were still hard and shriveled, awaiting for his mouth to cover them. 

There was a sizable puddle of fluids, pooling under her ass. A pesky, panicked thought tried to break through his mind, nagging him to quickly lift her off his precious desk, to wipe off the remnants of her discharge, but not sooner the thought started to form in his mind, the quicker he banished it. ' _So what if there was a permanent stain left behind? He'd rather have the reminder of what had happened on his desk right that moment, than having a pristine tabletop!'_

Before she could regain control over herself, he spoke softly, quietly.

"I'm so sorry for all the lost time, and heartache I caused you, Katniss. I was selfish, and scared and let my fears blind me to your pain and needs. I'm a useless bastard, I know, but I swear that from now on, I will keep my mind open, and I will fight for you, for us... I want you in my life, and if you still want me in yours, I am ready to stop being a wuss..."

"Shut, up, with the martyr complex. Kiss me already, you idiot!" 

He smiled widely, and stood from his kneeling position, surging up to kiss her. His face was still dripping with her arousal, but she had never complained about her own taste before, he knew she'd be alright if he didn't wipe her off his mouth.

Her demeanor had changed, from sad, hurt and wounded, to unabashedly predatory. 

Both her hands met his chest, and gently slid up to circle his neck. When he broke the kiss to breathe, her deviant smile never left her lips.

Peeta had always thought that, that smile was bad news, still, when she decided she wanted him, he was powerless to keep her at bay. After their first together, he was usually the instigator, yet when she was hot and bothered, he never figured out a way to say no to her advances... He had a nagging feeling _this_ was going to be one of those times. 

He wasn't trying to curb her appetite, he wasn't trying to stave her urges, he was thrilled about them, he welcomed the devilish glint in her eye and her coy smile, it all hinted at the dirty thoughts tuning wild in her little head. If there was something about Katniss Everdeen, was that the girl might've been young and reserved with most people, but there was truth to the the old saying: 'the quiet ones, are always the wildest in the sack' And only Peeta Mellark was privy to wild side... His cock twitched, he was starting to physically hurt with his arousal. 

"You're not mad at me anymore?" She purred, dragging a lone finger to the front of his shirt.

"No," he said as his facial expression softened, "I was never mad at you. You are a good little girl, there's no reason to be mad at you... ever!" 

His hands found their home around her waist, under her shirt.

"Mmm... I still think an _apology_ , is in order," she jumped down from her perch, and stood on tip-toe to kiss his jaw sweetly. She sort of cringed when she said the next words, "I did something out of spite. I kind of had my friend Portia shorten my skirt a few inches."

Peeta frowned confusedly.

"I paraded around the school like this all day," she pointed down at her skirt, and understanding started to dawn on Peeta, "then, I came here when it was busiest, 'cause I wanted you to see me... I wanted you to see how other guys looked at me... I know it drives you crazy when other dudes stare at me. I really meant to make you jealous, so you'd feel the same way I felt this morning," 

Her vibrant gray eyes fell to the floor in contrition, as bit on the corner of her lips, nervously, but she still had more to say, which was fine by him, since he was speechless from her confession.

"I felt betrayed, and hurt, and like I was going to puke, when I saw her car parked in your drive way this morning. I was getting into my own car to go to school when she came out of your house, and waved at me. She said hello, and asked about my mother, and all I could think of, was,  _did you scream her name while you were fucking her brains out?_ " Katniss shook her head, face still downcast. "I felt like crying all day long. It felt good when you finally started acting possessive in the bakery... I'm sorry I was childish. I'll understand if you've changed your mind about being with me again,"

"Katniss..." He breathed out slowly. "Sweetie, look at me," he curled his finger under her chin, and lifted her face to his. 

She reluctantly complied. He wished she'd go back to being a sexy vixen, instead of this shy doe.

"I'm not recanting what I told you a bit ago." His face was serious, and his eyes searched her's, "I'm not happy about your little revenge stunt, or whatever that was, but I understand being jealous, and acting up, I've been doing that  myself for a while. I can't ask you to be a mature, grown up woman, when I too, have acted like an immature, selfish prick."

He kissed her forehead quickly, before continuing, "I'm gonna stop acting like I own you. I'm gonna try and be more receptive, and think of your feelings before doing anything. I swear, I didn't touch my ex. I couldn't. I didn't want to. The only woman I want to have sex with is you... That said, we need to set some ground rules here," he grabbed her shirt sides, and pulled them up to cover her breast while he talked. 

"I want you to go back to your doctor, and figure out a different way to do birth control. We now know you can't be trusted with pills," he tried to sound grave, but they both chuckled at the thought. It was true, she couldn't keep a schedule with her pills for anything.

"Second, I'm not finishing inside you without a rubber, because we both know, pulling out is not fool proof either,"

Katniss shuddered at the mention of the condoms, she hated the feel of the latex most prophylactics were made of, and she usually begged him to not use them in bed; the scare was a believable one, because of the whole pulling out and Rythmn method they tried to follow wasn't exactly risk free. She knew he was right, still she scowled at the thought. 

He took her face in his hand, to get her full attention, "Katniss, I want you to listen closely, because our circumstances have changed. I _will_ knock you up for real one day. Just, not while you're in school, under twenty and not my wife; understand?"

Her eyes widened, her arms fell to her side. She was floored with what he was saying. The implications of his words, he was truly promising the future and beyond to her. 

"Peeta... What are you saying?" She asked barely above a whisper.

"That when time comes, I will march to your house, knock on the door, and tell your mother that I'm taking you out on a date. A real date, to a nice, fancy restaurant, a movie, putt-putt, ice cream, the park... Something... All of it, whatever it is you'll like, and then, someday down the path, I will present you with a ring, and if you accept to wear it, then you'll make me the happiest guy in the planet! But, and I really want to be very clear here, I still want you to go on that road trip with your friends, I want you to go to college, I want you to go on a trip to Paris with Prim like you've always wanted... I'll be here, waiting. I've got time. And you still need to live your life and do all the things you've dreamed of... Is that fair?" 

Katniss nodded vigurously, tears of joy tracking down her cheeks. She placed another kiss on his jaw, since it was the only place she could reach easily without stretching, "It's totally and completely fair, honey! I promise it's fair... and very doable! And Madge and Jo are gonna freak! Oh gosh!" She exclaimed stepping out of his arms, "I need a job! I need to start a road trip fund!" 

Peeta laughed, and pulled her back to him. "I think Finn and Annie could use a sitter. You should give them a call," he knew better than to offer to pay for her trip, or give her money in any way, and employing her in his bakery, was definitely a NO WAY IN HELL, but his  childhood friend, and only person who knew about him and Katniss, was a great choice for a job.

Finnick had teased Peeta when he started coming up with excuses to not hang out with him every week; Finn pushed and prodded until Peeta spilled that his mystery lady friend, was his teenager neighbor.

To Finn's eternal credit, he didn't flip out at Peeta's admission, like  surely any other person would, instead the copper haired Adonis, pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, before asking incredulously: "Didn't you just make her Sweet Sixteen birthday cake?" When Peeta told him that he indeed made and decorated the aluded baked good, _two years prior_ , _thank you very much_!, Finn whistled lowly, shook his head ruefully, and eyed his friend sideways, saying "You know, in the dictionary, the illustration next to the definition for ' _Jail Bait_ ', would be a hand-drawn portrait of Katniss Everdeen, colored in by your own, nimble artistic fingers, right?" Peeta only nodded defeatedly, and allowed his friend to serve him a double on the rocks. 

 

Back in the present, Peeta kissed his girl passionately once more. She wouldn't be considered jail bait any longer in a couple of weeks time, and the thought made Peeta feel giddy with anticipation. He was serious about taking Katniss out on a date. He wanted to court her like she deserved, but while he was fantasizing about sweet walks in the park, and picking up flowers for her, and where would he take her for their first date, her mind was becoming completely filthy. 

She sneaked a hand down his chest, lower until her fingers met the hem of his apron. She dipped her hand lower, until she found her mark. 

He bucked back, surprised when she squeezed his softening erection. The effect was instantaneous, his member was hard and rigid right away. His eyes widened, and quickly narrowed at her mischief. 

"Katniss... We can't... I don't have anything here, and I'm willing to bet the title to the bakery, you haven't taken one pill, since the last time we were together!" 

"Who says that you have to be in my pussy to cum?" She asked innocently, still stroking him through his clothes, batting her eyelashes at him... Yup, she was bad news, but he didn't want her to ever change. "There are other ways..." She didn't wait for him to process her words, nor to give her any indication of his agreement, but she sank low on her knees. 

Before wresting with his clothes, she shed her shirt and bra off, and handed them to him to place on top of her vest. Then, she yanked the apron around his waist, so the strings were on the front and the front was on his back, she fiddled with the cords for a moment, and the apron fell to the floor behind him, then she was undoing buttons and pulling down zippers before he could protest, his cock was out of his boxers, and into her tight fist. 

She smiled up at him, before opening her mouth wide and taking him in. 

"Fuuuuck..." He groaned throwing back his head. "Fuck, Katniss... Yes!" He sighed. 

She was sucking and nipping and licking all over his dick, not giving him any mercy. She pumped him at the base in tandem with her sucking, and then she lifted her head from his crotch, just to look at him, engorged and throbbing.

"Peeta... Inside me, now!" She moaned, scrambling to her feet, still stroking him in her hand. 

"Katniss, I already said..."

"I know... On the other entrance!" She snapped, climbing on top the desk again, "Come on, Peeta... I know you love it when you fuck me _there_!" She said breathlessly, pulling him by the shirt.

Peeta was, once again, speechless. Of course, she would come up with a way for him to penetrate her. It had been her idea to try anal the first time, and she loved it, he loved it too, they did it that way a handful of times, when she was unsure about her contraceptives effectiveness.

"Please, Peeta?" 

He hated when she begged, he could never say no to that, his cock wouldn't allow it. 

So he came to stand behind her, while she leaned on her side, propped up on her elbow. He hooked his arm around her knee, and lifted her leg, she wiggled her ass a bit, until it was hanging from the side of the desk. His free hand collected her messy braid, and lovingly pulled it the side, bearing her long, delicate neck to him. He kissed her bare shoulder, then curve of her neck, then under her ear, then whispered into her ear,

"You'll be the death of me, meanie Kat... but that's alright," he purred  darkly into her ear, making her skin break in goosebumps all over, "I'm gonna fuck you so good, you'll never look at another guy,"

He pressed his fully erected dick flat across her slit, to coat himself with her natural lubricants, that still drip copiously out of her. She moaned at the contact, before answering. 

"Babe..." She turned her head towards his, her voice think with want, but also amusement, "You don't have any competition anywhere," she reached her arm around his head, twining her fingers into his hair, she crushed their mouths together, for a searing kiss.

His fingers hadn't been idled while they kissed, they had been slowly stretching her rear crevice, one finger at a time, causing her to gasp, whimper, and undulate her hips into his. When he tought she was sufficiently stretched out, he took his fingers out of her, held onto her leg once more, and plunged right in, without warning.

She cried out, but he was quick to cover her mouth with his free hand, effectively blocking her loud noises. There wasn't much he could say after the shocking sensation of being inside of her ass for the first time in months. She felt tight and throughly wet even in there, he knew her juices had been falling there from her earlier release, which made him very thankful, he had gotten her off once already. 

He took a moment, to gather himself, and breath deeply. When his body was back under control, he leaned down to kiss her neck, and worry her flesh, his hands danced all over her smooth skin, reacquainting himself with her lustrous body. He let go of her mouth to kiss her, and after the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers. 

He breathed hard and deep, and his eyes focused on hers. "I'm gonna move now, okay?" 

She nodded. Sweat started to bead up on both their faces, backs and chests. 

"I'm not gonna last long. I haven't even jerk off in a while," he said softly, her eyes were riveted to his, but she remained quiet. "I'm gonna touch your pussy, when I get close so we can cum together, alright?"

"Okay," she breathed out.

And slowly, he pulled out of her encasing back opening, only to push right back in. He was measured in his movements, he deliberately slid slowly all the way to the very tip of his head, and thrusted back in hard and quick, he kept it up for a few thrusts, until he felt the tell-tale signs of his imminent release.

Meanwhile, Katniss bit her lips down, to keep quiet, only allowing the noises from the back of her throat she couldn't stop, to be heard; her face was scrunch up with pleasure, her eyes closed and her head lolled back when he started to speed up. She truly loved  being taken that way. She truly loved being taken by him. 

His arm coiled around her knee, he brought her thigh up, and pressed flushed against his belly, spreading her open for his meandering fingers. He finally made good on his promise of touching her center. 

She couldn't help the moan, nor the snap of her hips; he smiled, and again leaned into her neck, to whisper into her ear.

"I'm very close, honey. I want you to finish with me,"

She nodded frantically. He kissed her cheek, and started to straightened up, but her hand once more reached for his blond hair, and pulled his head down to the crook of her neck. 

"Talk to me, please... Tell me how much you love my ass and my pussy... Talk dirty, Peeta," her voice was broken up by the the way he was driving into her, fast and unrestrained... A far cry from when he begun. 

He didn't need much incentive to talk dirty to her, he sometimes felt horror and shame at things he had said to her during their more passionate trysts. He couldn't help his mind or refrained his tongue, when he was drilling hard and fast into her. He never knew his mouth could say such perversion, to a sweet, innocent thing such as Katniss Everdeen, but he did... Numerous times, and what was worse, she loved it.

But today, he would speak dirty to her on purpose, without censuring or chastising himself later... She asked for it, and he would give her anything she'd want, so he spoke, in a dark, deep voice, the things he would do to her that night once she sneak out of her house, how he would undress her, eat her up, push his fingers into her every crevice, and make her scream his name over and over.

He spoke of his plan to buy, sex toys to use on her... He had to place his hand over her mouth again since she was getting louder, his hips thrusting harshly into her, making his whole desk slide a few inches forward, his other hand rubbing her clit hard and fast, the way he knew drove her crazy. 

And finally, he felt the gush of liquid explode out of her.

"Oh fuck, what's this?" He asked in awe, slowing his pace a bit, "Did you just squirt on me, little flower?" He asked into her ear, his voice velvety and low, as he resumed his punishing pace. "I'm gonna have to make you do that again, sweetie. I'm gonna make a video of you loosing control and squirting all over my dick and fingers. I'm gonna watch it in a loop when you're away on your cross-country adventure... I'm gonna cum so hard every time, and I'm gonna sext you pictures of my cum, just so you know how much I miss you..."

"Oh fuck! Yes, please... I'll send you pictures of the sex toys inside of my, just so you know I'm missing you..." 

"Aah... Ye-yes... You do that... I'm cumming, baby... I'm cumming inside your ass... Fuck, fuck, fuck..." With a low, drawn out groan, he filled her with his load. 

 

Peeta was mostly dressed during their encounter, so he was quick to right himself up, and run out to the bathroom to grab a few wet napkins for her. She refused to clean his seed off of her, just wiping her front and a bit down her legs. Her clothes was still wrinkle free, so she simply rebranded her hair, and re dressed. 

He stood nearby, leaning against a wall, watching her fix herself. A smile covered his face, unapologetically. He was done being scared about his feelings for the girl in the school uniform, currently smoothing a hand down her skimpy too-short skirt. 

To his surprise, no one in the bakery below, heard the activities upstairs, although every make head and eyes still followed the tanned legged girl as she practically glided across the bakery, on her way out. Strangely, after the steamy coital experience, and their brief heart-to-heart, Peeta felt relaxed for the first time since the first time he kissed her all that time ago. He didn't even felt sickly jealous of the attention she was getting... He still threw a few dirty glares to the more pronounced offenders, so they'll back off. 

"So... Thank you for your time, mister Mellark..."

"Peeta!" He interjected with a bright smile, "Call me Peeta." He asked softly.

Katniss' smile was the brightest he had ever seen, her eyes twinkled and danced happily under her slightly arched eyebrows.

"Alright, Peeta. Thank you for the... Um, talk. See you later!" And in a bold move, she rose on her tippy-toes and brushed a quick peck on his cheek.

His face turned tomato red, and hers felt tingly, but he didn't get to see if she had blushed too, as she darted out the door right away, tossing a "Good-bye Ms. Trinket" over her shoulder as she went. 

Effie tried to wave her goodbyes too, but the girl was gone in a flash. 

"What vivacious, sweet girl!" Effie gushed, staring at the empty door. Then she turned to see him, as he absentmindedly agreed with a noise from deep within his throat and chest, a goofy smile still hanged on his lips.

"Well, you look happy, dear. I knew talking to the girl would brighten up your dreary mood. I have to tell you, Peeta, darling, sulking doesn't sit right with you, sweet boy..."

"Effie..." He brightly interrupted her endless barrage of thoughts, "I think it's only fair to inform you, that when that girl turns eighteen, in a couple of weeks, I'm officially off the market!"

"What ever do you mean, by that?" Effie asked confusedly.

"That girl, that just left... She's the future Mrs. Mellark... She just doesn't expect it right now." 

 

On May eighth, Peeta spoke to Mrs. Everdeen. That night, was Katniss and Peeta's first official date. On the Fourth of July, Peeta got down on one knee, in front of both their families, that had come over to Peeta's for a barbecue, he proposed marriage to a teary eyed Katniss, who readily and wholeheartedly agreed, amongst surprised gasps and growls of outrage fromhis mother. On August 15th, Katniss, Madge and Johanna left town on a road trip across the United States, Peeta sexted her every day until she came back, three weeks later,  She sexted videos of herself masturbating. 

She started collage soon after. Only an hour away drive from home. Peeta drove up there to see her every weekend. 

On December 26th, they drove to a court house, and eloped... Her idea, of course. Their families demanded an explanation, she simply said they were in love and it would have happened anyway, sooner or later... And No, she was not expecting a baby... Yet!

At their mothers' insistence, a reception-ceremony was given, to celebrate the marriage. 

On Father's Day, Katniss dropped a pharmacy baggie on Peeta's lap, at his desk at the bakery. His eyes darted from the innocent white paper bag, back to his wife's amused gray eyes, he questioned her wordlessly with his eyebrow. She shrugged in response, and motioned her finger at him to follow her into the restroom. 

This time, the little plastic stick told him scary news... Only holding his brand new baby daughter in his arms, would extinguish the fears roiling in his chest. Only then, he could look at his sweet, happy bride, and accept that nothing worth having, isn't scary, challenging, but oh so rewarding at the end. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm Alliswell21@tumblr. Come see me!
> 
> Comments are appreciated!


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